The more we use our imagination- the better. Imagination can be used to help children expereince what they are learning and help them solidify it in their minds. Here are some wonderful activities for you to do with your children, students or whomever. Use these guides will have children making choices, reinforcing important lessons (such as directions, plant life cycles and more). Most of these guides will also have kids thinking fast and making decisions- helping them learn to trust themselves and therefore increase their sense of self and self-esteem.

Build Your Own Radio Play

There are a few different ways to create your own radio play. This activity can be done solo or in small groups or as a large group depending on age, comfortability and time.

How to Start/Prep

Decide if you are going to use an existing story or create your own. Either way, start with the text. Read it over. Go line by line and think- what would you hear?

Remember- there are no wrong answers- just different ideas.

Expecially while brainstorming it's important not to limit yourself- sometimes the wildest ideas are the best

Brainstorm any and all sound ideas

For example: if the story takes place in a forest, what sounds would you hear? Maybe birds, water, bugs- etc. Some sounds are great for setting the scene, others are important for action. For example: a door closes, a sword fight etc.

Plan how you will perform the sounds

Can you do some of the sounds youself? Look around your surrounding/brainstorm how sounds can be made. For example: foot steps can be created by putting shoes on and stepping loudly. A creek could be made by pouring water from one glass to another. To make it sound like you are going through a forest- run your hands through a plant. Get creative. Try things out. Get feed back.

Practice

Once you've planned all your sound effects- practice them while performing the words/script. You maybe doing a solo radio play or it may be helpful to do it with a few others. Another can play multiple characters by changng their voices.

Share your work

Decide if you are going to record or perform live for your audience. Invite family, classmates, friends, teddy bears to your big show and HAVE FUN! The more fun you have performing your work the more fun the audience will have watching/listening to your work.

Pre-Made Radio Play Scripts

Click on the title of the script you want to print/read/try out for yourself or use as an example:

• Little Red Riding Hood
• Little Mermaid

Need more help? Watch this video!

Transcript of Video

How to create your own radio play!
Step one: Select a story you really really like.
It can be a story that already exists or make one up.
Step Two: Take that story and figure out what sounds would help tell the story. What sounds are in the story?
For example: in the story of the three little pigs- one of the sounds is building a house.
Step Three: figure out which sounds you can make with your own mouth and which ones you're gonna have to be creative about.
Step Four: find the different things around your house that you can use to make those sounds.
Building? I know I can tap on a box and it kind of sounds like building Don't forget the audience will suspend their disbelief if you tell them that this: (bangs on cardboard) is a little pig building a house.
Step Five: Practice!
Step Six: perform it! You can perform in a variety of ways you could record your performance or do it live for your friends or family.
You could ask them to close their eyes while you do all of your sound effects and your story together - or they can watch you. Whatever you think would be the best for your play.
Happy performing.